I tried this $23 garden tool to rid my patio of weeds — and it’s super handy

I’m not very good at relaxing in my yard if I can see weeds spurting up from everywhere. While I use a specific tool to rid my lawn of dandelions, it’s unsuitable for other hard-to-reach weeds trapped between patio slabs and pathways. And while I understand that as a gardener, you have to take the rough with the smooth and spend time doing the chores you’d prefer to forget, it’s much easier if you use a tool designed for the task.

Weeds are a never-ending problem for gardeners, and however much you try to prevent weeds from invading your yard, they have a mischievous nature of making an appearance when your back is turned. While there are a plethora of weeding tools on the market to remove weeds from your lawn and beds, I was eager to try out a weeding tool designed to remove weeds from patios and pathways. 

So, tasked with looking for a patio weeding tool I came across Spear & Jackson’s handheld patio weeding knife, which I put to the test to discover if it was up to the job.

It’s small and mighty

My first impressions when I received the handheld patio knife was that it’s small and mighty. Apart from the stainless steel blade that’s rust resistant and designed to reduce dirt adhesion, it’s looks solid and sharp, with an angled head to get to all those hard-to-reach nooks and crannies, it also has a comfortable ergonomic handle that’s shaped to fit well in the hand. And for those who like to keep your tools nice and tidy, it has an integrated hook to hang it up when it’s not in use. 

The blade is also tanged, meaning that the same piece of metal that compromises the blade, extends as one piece through the handle. This makes the blade stronger, and reduces the problem of the blade breaking off at the handle. And it also means the blade doesn’t extend to the handle, giving you space to protect your knuckles when using the tool. 

It weighs in at 5.7 ounces, and measures 12.4 x 3.3 x 2.7 inches, with the handle measuring 5.9 inches. My hands are on the small side, but I didn’t find that the handle was uncomfortably big.

It’s highly rated 

The Spear & Jackson patio weeder also rates highly on Amazon, gaining a 4.5-star rating out of 336 reviews. Users say, “It seems such a simple tool but makes such a difference in getting the weeds out easily and quickly from the root”, and “the handle provides a good grip”. The reviews show that this patio weeder is also useful for other yard jobs, with one user saying it’s “robust and well-designed, making it incredibly easy to achieve clean and precise edges along my lawn and garden beds”. 

Ease of use

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You don’t get any instructions with the patio weeder, and you don’t need them. It’s intuitive to use; just pick it up and go. However, before you start I would recommend wearing your best gardening gloves to protect your hands. 

I started on my small patio, which has  with square slabs with gravel swept in between, and at this time of year, it is prone to small weeds and moss. Inserting the knife between the slabs was easy, and I only needed to pull the knife along the edge. I was also able to use the tip of the blade to remove the moss that had started to grow on top of the patio slabs, and once again, I didn’t need to put in any effort to remove the moss that had grown between the slabs and brick edging. 

I also removed some weeds that grow with abandon along the passageway between my neighbor’s house and my own and along the wall of my front yard where it meets the public pavement. I found it a bit harder to remove stubborn weeds, such as dandelions with more extensive roots, but it worked a treat for shorter weeds. 

I recommend the Spear & Jackson patio knife. The blade was narrow enough to fit between my slabs and it removed weeds and moss without much effort. It’s also a handy tool for removing other weeds that pop up elsewhere in your yard. Aside from removing weeds from patios, it has multiple other uses, and could even be used to remove ivy from walls, which one Amazon reviewer found particularly handy. 

I’m all for tools that make it easier to keep my yard tidy, without costing a small fortune — just like when I used a $49 garden tool to neaten my lawn edges. I think of Spear & Jackson’s patio knife in a similar vein, as it neatens your yard and the tool is a reasonable price. 

However, if you prefer a tool you can use whilst standing, rather than a handheld knife, Spear & Jackson also sells a Telescopic Patio Knife, available at Amazon for $34. The blade and handle differ from the handheld version, but the long-handled option gives you flexibility if you’d prefer not to get down on your hands and knees.

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